Möbius Break
by Kitt Chaos
Summary: Dissidia, a hodge-podge reality where the only constant is never-ending conflict. Sephiroth sacrificed his life two cycles ago to gain knowledge, Cosmos died during the last cycle in a bid to end the conflict once and for all, yet Dissidia cycles again.
1. Chapter 1

Summary – Dissidia, a hodge-podge reality where the only constant is never-ending conflict. Sephiroth sacrificed his life two cycles past to gain knowledge, Cosmos sacrificed her life during the last cycle in a bid to end the conflict once and for all, yet Dissidia cycles again.

Disclaimer – Dissidia Final Fantasy, all of its characters, situations, and utter awesomeness are the property of Square Enix. This fan fiction merely shows my continuing affection and appreciation for the ever-evolving wonder that is Final Fantasy.

Author's note – If the rumors are true, there's a second Dissidia game in the works. Since this story focuses fairly tightly on only five of the original characters, it's highly doubtful that anything from my story will parallel the official and soon to be revealed canon. Still, I thought it best to start posting this now, before the release of the second Dissidia game, so that I don't try to incorporate what will most likely be conflicting canon. I've got a feeling if I try to do that, I will give up and never complete this story.

**Möbius Break**

**Prologue**

"I protest!" Cosmos turned her face up in appeal toward the unseen greater god or gods who watched the conflict of Dissidia. It was these powers that dispatched Shinryu at the end of each cycle to erase the combatants' memories and otherwise imposed some sort of order upon a proceeding that was by its nature disorderly, given the intrinsic nature and presence of Chaos. "My warriors won the last conflict, so the benefit of selecting the first warrior for this cycle should have been mine!"

Laughter rolled around her. The laughter, like the voice, was singular and myriad, male and female, whisper-soft and Armageddon-loud and seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at once. "If it had been you, Lady of Order, who stole the first pick, Chaos would have just cause to entice intervention. As it is, Chaos' actions are in keeping with his essential nature. There is no reason to take the advantage away from him."

Cosmos' shoulders slumped at the pronouncement. Once decisions were handed down, they weren't changed. She rebuked herself internally for not tending to the worrisome matter when she had first become aware of it. Now, through her inattention, one of her warriors was in peril.

Not of losing his life within the cycle of conflict. In a way, she had become jaded to the death scenes of her chosen warriors – she had witnessed each one so many times they were all familiar to her. It wasn't that she didn't care – far from it. But, as long as the cycle was intact, unbroken, so too were her warriors' lives. Losing their lives within Dissidia was nothing more than a temporary time out from the battle. It was the same for Chaos' forces. The defeat, and pain, and deaths were real enough, which is why she had begged Shinryu for some of the dragon's cast-off scales eons ago so that the resting places she had created for her warriors after their defeats cast a gentle balm of amnesia over their suffering.

But now, Chaos had forced her hand. Cosmos had intended to select a different warrior this cycle to safeguard the imperiled one from the ultimate danger. If he were called into Dissidia as he were now, bearing the remnants of his last journey here within his very soul, he wouldn't just die within the cycle and appear in Cosmos' recovery area until he'd regained enough courage and strength to fight again. Nor would he appear within his own reality in his proper place and time. He would die – the true death of unbeing.

"Please..." Cosmos didn't realized she'd uttered her broken plea aloud.

Again that indescribable laugh. "Surely it doesn't matter that much who has the 'first pick' advantage this cycle."

"No, it's not that – though having that first selection is important. The one who possesses it shapes the framework for the entire conflict. But, this time, with the warrior Chaos selected, he has forced my hand. I must pick a known warrior who opposes him directly, and he..." Cosmos' voice choked off in half a sob.

"Cosmos?" For once, the voice, rather than didactic or amused, was soft – concerned, even.

"If only I could throw the conflict before my warrior could claim his crystal, he would be safe, and perhaps I could find a better way to safeguard him in further cycles, but..."

"A forfeit, by a god, is not tolerated." There was the steel in the voice that Cosmos was used to hearing.

"And that is the cause of my distress. Are you certain you cannot enforce the rule in this instance?"

"The decision will not be changed."

Cosmos thought furiously. She knew that she had only a moment or two more to do something, anything, to stop the tragedy she feared before this celestial overseer tired of the conversation and left.

"Though I cannot forfeit, and I am more constrained by the rules than my adversary, may I beg some latitude in how they are enforced this cycle?"

The answer was long in coming, as if pondered, and perhaps discussed at length, first. "It is not without precedence. After all, your action last cycle forcing Chaos to attack and destroy you was chaotic in the extreme – and yet, ultimately well within your realm of harmony through the actions of your warriors after your sacrifice."

"This would be along the same lines."

"The cycles have become – repetitive. The unexpected action you took last cycle was a welcome change. As long as you do not stray too far from the harmony and order you are the ultimate champion for, a certain – tolerance – in applying the rules may be in your favor."

Cosmos bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you." Now, at least she had a chance to save her warrior. She had only the faintest inkling of how to manage it, but at least now this cycle wasn't his certain, absolute death sentence.

* * *

Author's note –

I hope it doesn't bother anyone to think that there might be other gods watching the events in Dissidia. I'm thinking of it as if the cycle of conflicts is almost an entertainment, like a football game. Don't worry, though. I don't think they will show up or have any other impact on the story. I just needed to get the ball rolling.

Next chapter: Chapter One – Cause of the Champion


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One – Cause of the Champion**

"I've been here before." The declaration was stated with calm certainty despite the bizarre landscape complete with a massive magic portal in front of him, and a gigantic glowing dragon dominating the background.

"Not possible. This is a place that is no place existing in a time that is no time. You have been pulled from your time and place into this impossible-where and never-now to fight with us against the warriors of oppressive order throughout all time. You have been selected as one of Chaos's elite forces. Welcome, such as it is, to Dissidia." A man in battle armor approached.

The only answer the tall, slim man gave was a cynically lifted eyebrow.

"Hmph. You don't appear to be that impressive on the surface. Hand-picked by Chaos, as all of us were. I suppose you will do. If not, whatever yon dragon is will gnaw on your bones. It is of no consequence to me." The warrior, clad in truly massive armor, shrugged his shoulder dismissively.

"Then why bother?"

"Bother?"

"Talking to me. If it is of 'no consequence'?"

"Even among the forces of Chaos there must exist some order, else we would be at each other's throats." The heavily armored man, who wielded a sword that seemed even more ridiculously oversized and unwieldy as the one this newly-arrive man's nemesis carried, gestured toward the group clustered around the base of a slowly whirling portal.

The unarmored man leisurely cast his gaze there. A more or less naked woman, who seemed to have weird creature heads atop tentacles growing from her sides floated in the air. A gibbering clown pawed at the ground below her, next to a garishly garbed man holding what appeared to be a scepter. A massive being in gleaming armor stood nearby as if rooted in place. Further away, on the other side of this decidedly strange group, and gazing into the distance toward the massive dragon, was a final man in inky black armor.

"Who is to say I won't take them all down and be on my way?"

"Ah, yes. Raging egomania seems to be the mood of the day." The armored man sighed wearily. "I will tell you what I've told all of them – it is all I know. A being who declared himself to be Chaos, the god of discord, told me that it is he who brought each of us here, to serve as his elite force in a war against his most-hated enemy."

"Let me guess – Cosmos, goddess of harmony?"

"Yes, but how did you know that? No matter. Perhaps some knowledge of the ancient rivalry exists in legends and myths in your reality. Best to forget those, though, these are the real gods and your information is probably false. We need each other. The only way to return to our proper places and times is to defeat the forces of Cosmos, and win the war for Chaos. Until we do, the only reality to our existence is endless fighting."

"And that's a downside?"

"You are certainly an odd one. Perhaps not, but each of us," The armored man's gesture took in the others. "has some reason to wish to be back in our own realities, or fighting for our own reasons. Admittedly, most deal with taking over the world, destroying the world, or pure and simple revenge, but, purpose enough to wish to be finished with this war that is not of our choosing and return to our realities. Each of us has a reason to fight – but also a reason to end the cycle of fighting." The armored shoulders shrugged. "In a day or two, you'll see. Each of us is a formidable fighter, but when fighting is all there is..." Another shrug. "I'm Garland, though that doesn't mean a thing to you."

"It's perhaps less confusing than armored warrior number one," the calm man replied. "I am Sephiroth."

A nod. "Well then, come meet the others."

Sephiroth kept his knowledge to himself. He already knew each of these warriors of Chaos. Mateus, the evil emperor who wanted nothing more than to grind Firion into dust – and then take over the world. From Mateus' machinations from the last cycle, apparently it didn't matter if it was his world or not. Last time, he dared to try to usurp the power of the gods for himself. Cloud of Darkness who really was more a force of destruction that a woman as she appeared to be. Exdeath, another one who wanted only to destroy all that is. Oh, wait. No, Exdeath was rather determined to expound at length upon his desire to return everything, including himself, to the 'Void'. A lofty goal for one who started life as a tree. Kefka, another schemer like the Emperor, seemed to be completely mad. Sephiroth didn't let on that he knew why they were waiting near the massive portal. He was the seventh of ten warriors. Ultimecia, Kuja, and Jecht had yet to arrive.

As he met these out-time and out-reality warriors for the 'first' time again, Sephiroth seethed. Again. Again he'd been pulled from his reality by another's whim to take part in a fight that didn't matter to him. _Again._ And, what was worse, this time he remembered that he'd been here before. Fighting this useless war before. Ending the idiotic cycle before.

What started it again? What did he have to do to make it stop, once and for all? He was not a puppet dancing on the ends of anyone's strings – he held the strings to his own favorite puppet and made Cloud dance to _his_ tune.

Sephiroth maintained his disinterested cool, using it as a mask to study his unwanted allies. The schemers were already plotting – he could read it in their eyes. Those desiring entropy or total destruction were also following their old, tedious patterns. Kuja and Jecht, newly arrived, were drawn into the schemers' orbits. Only Golbez, as before, was impossible to read, encased in his armor that gave none of his true intentions away. Even when he was not physically apart from the group, he didn't seem to truly belong. Sephiroth remembered from the last cycle – Golbez, though on Chaos' side, had helped Cosmos and her warriors in her desperate bid to break the cycle once and for all. The Dark Warlock's heart didn't belong to either harmony or discord – all of his intentions and will were focused on his brother. That suited Sephiroth just fine. After all, he didn't care for either cosmic force either. All of his attention and will was focused on Cloud Strife.

Garland caught his attention. Sephiroth couldn't put his finger on it, but it seemed as if there was some sort of fleeting sense of change about their 'fearless leader', this time. For the first time Sephiroth wondered if he were the only one bearing memories from a previous cycle of this conflict.

No matter. All he needed was one other. One to work with him to tip the scales away from their too perfect balance. Let the schemers do as he had done when he killed himself – try to seize the power of the gods for themselves. He was finished with that – at least for now. He didn't want to become the god of a closed world fated to become one of the primaries in the endless cycle of battle. Even if Cloud were to become his opposite adversary, he didn't want such a constrained power. All he wanted was to be freed of this world, and its useless cycle of battle, once and for all. Strike that. All he wanted was to be freed himself, and to find that Cloud was free as well. It would not do for him alone to be free. He needed Cloud almost as much as he needed his own freedom.

His thoughts returned to Golbez who seemed to be reluctant at best, and perhaps working contrary to Chaos' will at worst. Golbez. Yes, older brother to the paladin Cecil, as conflicted in his motivations as Sephiroth himself was. How to break through the amnesia that seemed to have complete hold over these forced allies, though. No. He had no need for any of them to remember – except one. Golbez. He could make use of the reluctant warlock.

Sephiroth considered Golbez again. They'd never fought against each other, and it wasn't the way of any of this band of chaos-driven warriors to share information. He realized he had no idea how Golbez – a Dark Warlock – fought, what strategy he used, or the best way to take him down. No matter. Sephiroth had never met a warrior he couldn't best – even Cloud. That Cloud could also best him was not a point of consideration right now. All he had to do was bide his time, watch for the others to be swept up into their parts in the grandiose plans of world domination or reality destruction, and wait for his chance.

* * *

Once he got his chance, Sephiroth concluded that warlocks were a pain in the ass. Many of Golbez's attacks not only had insane range to one who was used to having the longest reach in battle thanks to his unique sword and skills, but also had the annoying effect of magically picking him up and bringing him closer to Golbez for even more punishment. This was doubly annoying, not only for the demoralizing and damaging effect of the attacks, but also because they brought him close enough that the reach of his own blade was now a detraction to his fighting style instead of its greatest strength. To one who was most used to standing just out of range and taunting his opponents as they tried with futility to reach him, it was frustrating to be on the receiving end of that very strategy. Running away and evading was not Sephiroth's usual fighting style.

Still, one had to adapt, if one were to survive, so adapt he did. As he was fighting, he noticed a curious effect. Rage was building in him, but not the usual familiar tang of it that drove him beyond all reason. No, this – was different. This was – almost familiar, but he couldn't take the time to discover when he had felt it before. Confusion has no place on the battlefield, so he pushed it to one side, and increased his attacks. He had entered the battle with the sole intent of slaying Golbez, and he focused all of his effort and skill toward achieving that goal.

Something broke within him as he directed the lethal hail of blade strikes down on the beaten warlock.

_Limit break? Did I just perform a limit break? It's been years – and this isn't one I've used before._

Golbez went down under his attack, his suddenly dead weight sliding off his blade. A sense of looming doom diving on him from above made Sephiroth look up. He had no time to dodge, parry, defend, or react in any way as the Masamune, as wielded by one who looked like himself, was driven through him back to front.

* * *

The utter blackness lifted. Peaceful, soft green light flowed all about him. Whispers, not heard by his ears but felt in his spirit, rustled all around him. _Lifestream. Even here, in this place outside of time, a part of Lifestream still reaches. I counted on this. Here, within Lifestream, we will be able to..._

"Uhn."

The armor-clad warlock struggled with regaining his awareness, and his sudden trans-location to such an unexpected and highly magical location.

"This is the Lifestream. I brought you here, on purpose, so we could talk, without anyone else eavesdropping or even suspecting that our communication took place," Sephiroth said.

"Why...?"

Sephiroth looked out into the swirling surges and eddies of power within the encompassing Lifestream. "For years I have tormented Cloud, telling him he was my puppet – only to find that I have been forced to dance on the end of someone else's string – myself."

"Meaning?"

"I have been here before. You have been here before. Not here, within the Lifestream, but here, within this closed world of battle, as one of the forces chosen by Chaos to battle against those aligned with Cosmos."

"That is hard to believe."

"According to you, we've never met, correct? I know you are Golbez," Sephiroth held up one hand forestalling Golbez's statement. "but Garland introduced you by name. However, I know that while you are not enamored with any of Chaos' wishes, you have no interest in what Cosmos desires either. It is not that this doesn't concern you – it does, deeply – perhaps even more deeply than to those who do hold with either ideal of harmony or discord of their own will. Your interest in this conflict and how it plays out is centered completely around Cecil, of the warriors of Cosmos – because he is your brother. For him, you will mark yourself with the epitaph of 'traitor' – willing to accept even death if only to protect him. No, even if only to help him. How could I know this of you – something you haven't yet disclosed to anyone by words or deeds during this cycle, if I didn't bear with me the memories of the last one?"

"Assuming I believe you, why help me?"

"I'm not helping you. I need you to know what I know about the cycle of battle, in order for me to break free of it. Even if working in tandem breaks both of us free, that doesn't matter to me. I am no one's puppet, not even a god's."

"Well then. I am not adverse to 'working in tandem' with you. With this special knowledge you possess, what must we do to break free of the cycle?" Golbez looked around. "For that matter, how do we break free from this place?"

"Hmph. Uncomfortable with it? Makes sense. To me, it feels like home."

"This oddly peaceful place feels like home to you? That belies your selection as one of Chaos' chosen warriors."

"Hmph. This limitless, directionless power, seething within and through all living things and the very planet itself – I want it. I don't want to bask in it, I want to control it. To return to my world where I have a chance to seize the power of the true Lifestream, I will even work with you. Does that seem to be more in character, for one such as me?"

Golbez inclined his head, satisfied with the explanation.

"As for how we break free from here – this is only a tendril of the true Lifestream, undoubtedly manifest in this closed off world to serve as a resting place if either Cloud or I are defeated by other than each other. As I learned during the last cycle, I cannot be truly defeated here by other than Cloud – he cannot be defeated by other than me. You and Cecil are likewise paired. For me to try to kill Cecil is pointless. After a time of rest, he would return. Only your attacks on your brother, or his on you, and then only in the proper battle, hold meaning for either of you. Each of us can battle any other warrior of either side we choose, inflicting real damage and real harm upon one another, but it does not release us from the cycle – unless it is the deciding battle between foes."

"Foes? Is that all I am – to my brother – now?"

"Here? Yes. You must fight him, in earnest, if he is to fulfill his role as a puppet for this cycle of battle – or, if you intend to work with me to break free of this endless cycling, once and for all."

"Breaking free myself and leaving my brother behind..."

"Would be as distasteful and useless for you as my breaking free while leaving Cloud in this futile and closed world."

"I would – free Cecil, too?"

"It is why I chose you to approach with this. There are two – maybe three others of our Chaos-selected comrades who aren't driven by insane urges to bring about the destruction of everything, but, true to themselves, they are swept into the plots and plans of the schemers who seek the power of a god. They will not see the truth or break free of the plots until too late to be of any use to me. You never do more than pay lip service to Chaos or his forces. No matter how many times your memory is erased and you are pulled back into the cycle of battle, it seems your intent is always to help your brother."

Golbez seemed to regard Sephiroth for a long moment. "And this sickens you? Or displays my weakness?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "I never had a brother, so I don't know. Yes. No. It doesn't matter. You are strong enough and intelligent enough to do what must be done, and cunning enough to conceal it from everyone – including that brother of yours. That is all that matters to me."

* * *

Author's note –

So now you know for certain two of the five characters this story centers on. Who'd have thought it? Golbez and Sephiroth, working together. It's far easier to see Cecil and Cloud cooperating, isn't it?

Next Chapter: Chapter Two - Worry of the Warlock


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two – Worry of the Warlock**

"Sephiroth."

His name. Those tones. There was something, just beyond the reach of his memory, familiar about it...

"Yes. You have the knowledge to reach through all the memory blocks in your mind – if you so wish. You can recall – that in cycles past – you were one of _my_ chosen warriors."

"Cosmos." Sephiroth turned and faced her. "I used to be many things, in the past. None of that matters now."

The goddess regarded him for a long moment, then nodded. "I know." Her eyes appeared a little sad, and a soft smile touched her lips. "You were a very focused and effective hero of the light, in the past."

"I should not be seen talking with you. What do you want?" Sephiroth affected a bored air.

"Direct, as always. As to what I want..." Cosmos looked upward as if searching for the right words. "I want to help you. I want – to give you the information you need – to succeed in your plan."

Sephiroth stared at her, lifted a highly skeptical eyebrow, then turned to walk away from her.

"The cycle can be broken – rather, warriors can be pulled free from the cycle. There _is_ a way."

Sephiroth's back stiffened at her words, but he kept walking. Cosmos sighed and faded from sight.

* * *

Reappearing in her sanctuary, Cosmos wondered how long she could delay. Chaos wasn't delaying. His warriors were certainly not delaying. Each of her chosen champions had been sent to their individual after-death recovery places at least once. If she didn't do something – soon – she would forfeit, which would upset the one or ones who oversaw this conflict or worse – lose the faith of her own warriors.

She lifted her eyes up from her bemused thoughts. A familiar soul had wandered close enough for its distinctive signature to brush up against her magical senses. She rose, and walked with unhurried and seemingly aimless steps toward one of the taller structures in this arena. The giant, curving, shell-like screen should offer what would be perceived as enough cover for her visitor to feel comfortable nearing enough to converse with her.

"My lady," Golbez bowed his head respectfully. He always approached her with the same almost apologetic formality. "Do not be alarmed. I mean you no harm."

"I know, Golbez. I am pleased you came."

The Dark Warlock shook his head, as if in confusion. "I am not worthy to approach so near to you, but..."

"You are fully worthy to come here, Golbez," Cosmos interrupted him. "But that is a discussion for another time. For now, there is information I must give you. It is of critical importance."

"There are plots against you, lady. Beyond that which Chaos desires."

Cosmos smiled. Golbez always came to warn her of the machinations of the warriors of Chaos. He was one of the most orderly of all the warriors of either side and held honor as high as his brother's. "I know, but I do thank you for your warning. I wish you would consider joining..."

"No." Golbez dared to interrupt her to prevent her from completing her invitation to join the side of light. "I don't deserve... Chaos summoned me. That alone is proof that I'm not worthy to stand by my brother's side – or in your regard."

Cosmos exclaimed in surprise. "But, you are in my regard! Perhaps even more so because of the danger to you in bringing me this warning. If you could only see your own soul as I do... But, there is no time for us to rehash this tired, old discussion. There is something I need to speak with you about – information you need for your plan with Sephiroth to come to fruition." Golbez started at her words. "I am fully aware of your plan. More, not only do I approve of it, I need it to succeed. If it does not, and my stalling action no longer hampers my own warriors, your brother is in the gravest danger."

"My brother? Cecil? What – what danger is he facing? Where is he? I will...!"

"Calm yourself, Golbez. I will have a chance to explain more fully later. For now, please, listen. It is vitally important if you wish to save your brother from a final, true death."

Golbez stopped floating in the air so abruptly he crashed onto his feet on the ground. He staggered. The goddess merely touched him on the arm, yet somehow imparted enough support for him to recover his balance.

"Final death?"

"Yes. It is too dangerous to go into it now, but I promise I will explain fully once it is safe to do so. For now, let me tell you one thing; cross souls are the only way Sephiroth's plan will work. You should be able to figure out how to make use of this clue – once in the Lunar Subterrane and once in the Planet's Core. But before that, light and darkness will chase each other across the sky. That is where willing souls may cross, when meteors fly."

"Willing souls? Meteors? What are you trying to tell me, Cosmos?"

"I am not able to tell you any more clearly – but I am confident you and Sephiroth will figure it out."

* * *

Author's note –

Next chapter: Chapter Three - Enigma of the Eclipse


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three - Enigma of the Eclipse**

It started, as so many events in this closed world did, in Chaos' realm, the Edge of Madness. Though the sky never showed any aspect other than that of a continual rain of fire in a perpetually darkened sky, the event Cosmos waited for began, and spread across each of the realms in turn. Her only hope was that Sephiroth and Golbez would be in one of the proper realms to notice it, and figure out how to use it, before it ended. Though she was a goddess, she clasped her hands together, and prayed.

Sephiroth stared into one of the spatial rifts floating eerily in the sky near the Dimension Castle. All of Chaos's forces could be found here at one time or another, watching these rifts and hoping to catch a glimpse of the hero they most wanted to face. It was the perfect area to spy on others from, as, if one was patient enough, it would eventually show almost any event one wished to witness. It was the main reason Sephiroth decided to slay Golbez to talk with him at length and more openly, as the after-death areas never appeared in the rifts. Sephiroth noticed that the gods, Chaos and Cosmos, never appeared within the rift images either. He suspected any communication with either of them was safe enough from remote viewing. One would have to be physically present to spy on the activities of either god.

The sound, for want of a better word, of the chiming voices of Lifestream caught his attention. The image in the rift he was viewing changed, and the urgency of the Lifestream voices against his soul increased. He'd viewed the Planet's Core, the only area within this closed world that Lifestream flowed, many times through the rifts, but never heard the voices before. _Are they – calling me?_ Intrigued, he stepped through the rift and into the Planet's Core arena directly.

Now present within this arm of Lifestream, the voices became even more clear. Since they spoke directly with his spirit, there were no words, but the sense of urgency increased. Sephiroth closed his eyes to 'listen' more closely to the voices around him. _They are – familiar – almost. What are you trying to tell me?_

Again the answer wasn't in words. It was more like urges the Lifestream presented to him – actions they recommended he take. Not wishing to be controlled or influenced by any one or any thing, Sephiroth considered ignoring them, but the sense of something familiar, and helpful, confused him. Why would Lifestream wish to help him? He'd tried to destroy a planet to gain control over it. Upon deeper reflection, it was not the Lifestream itself that wished to help him, rather some being or perhaps more than one floating within it.

"Cloud." That had to be it. He had a good idea who these Lifestream entities were – rather, who they had been when they were alive. Aerith, whom he killed himself to stop her from thwarting his plans, and Zack, the starry-eyed whelp who had once made Sephiroth think of himself as a hero. They weren't trying to help _him_. They wanted to help Cloud.

Still, helping Cloud now meant getting him out of here, too. He decided to 'listen' more closely.

* * *

Golbez stopped so suddenly his cloak swirled tightly around his ankles. A sense of some grandeur stole over his soul. It felt somewhat familiar – but never when he was alone. Indeed, he he'd been forced to steel his soul against longing to bask in the warmth of it as this was the radiance his brother carried within his very soul.

"Cecil."

But, even his brother did not contain a feeling as light-filled and stately as this. Trembling at the overwhelming power of it, not certain what he would behold, Golbez turned around.

The Blue Planet, in all its mute but light-drenched glory, rose over the horizon. _Yes. Strange that I never realized I should witness this event here. The Lunar Subterrane holds the Blue Planet in its sky. How odd that I've never noticed it here, before. I've only ever seen the other moon in the sky, in this place._

Golbez turned his face up, even through his armor feeling the life-giving properties of the spill of silent light. He'd turned his back on this once. Knowing he was unworthy, for all the actions he had taken as Zemus' pawn, he had chosen exile and isolation with his father's people on the Lunarian Moon, rather than taint his brother's efforts to heal the damage he'd caused to their mother's home, the Blue Planet. Events had conspired to make a mockery of his intentions. Now, the light spilling across him felt like the long-distant, half-remembered feel of his mother's embrace.

"Hmph. Pretty," a voice said behind him.

Golbez whirled to find Sephiroth standing there.

"Moonrise. I've never noticed it here, before. Or any of the realms. No sense of night turning to day – ever. Why now? Why today?"

"It's planet-rise," Golbez told him. "The planet the Cecil and I were born on."

"I see. A celestial event – in this place that hasn't had any. A change. I heard, from the Lifestream, that this is our chance."

"Our chance?"

"Yes. Though I don't know what it means."

"A celestial event..." Golbez cupped his chin.

"It means something to you?"

Golbez delved into his memory. "Something Cosmos told me... 'light and darkness will chase each other across the sky. That is where willing souls may cross, when meteors fly.'"

"Cross souls. Intriguing. And to tied into Meteor. Cosmos is perhaps more cunning that I suspected. A planet would have a rich presence of Lifestream, and this arena mirrors the home of your father's people. I begin to get a sense of what..."

"Look!" The blue disk of the planet, which had risen fully into the sky, now showed a mar of its perfect circle on one edge. This blight continued to spread. "An eclipse," Golbez observed. "How strange. To have no celestial events here, and now, to have one so rare."

"Light and darkness..." Sephiroth said.

"Chasing each other across the sky. Yes, that is a rather poetic description of an eclipse. Willing souls? Ours, I take it?" Golbez asked.

"Seems so. When meteors fly. That is possible, if you have an attack that..."

"I do – as must you," Golbez interrupted.

"Then, our course is clear," Sephiroth grinned wickedly. An arc of light showed that he had armed himself with his Masamune.

"Indeed." Golbez crossed his arms before him as he readied his magic for battle.

Though fighting against each other, Sephiroth and Golbez shared a unified purpose, and the battle had a curiously cooperative feeling to it. Not that they didn't trade attacks. That, they certainly did – viciously trading bravery attacks back and forth. The amount of ex-force flooding the field after only a moment of battle was impressive indeed as the two combatants broke each other's bravery repeatedly. First one, then the other claimed a fully charged ex-core and then went into ex-mode.

Golbez raised both arms and concentrated to summon Meteor. This action left him wide open to attack. Likewise, Sephiroth was fully vulnerable as he too invoked a Meteor instead of his more customary Supernova. Both devastating spells hit their targets at the same time. Twin contained explosions rocked the lunar terrain. Only the Blue Planet, emerging from the shadow of the moon across its fair face, witnessed the event, and the calm that settled after.

* * *

Author note – The Blue Planet is clearly visible past Cecil in his final Destiny Odyssey cut-scene from the game. Still, for this story, I need Golbez to have not noticed it. Perhaps he was so focused on his brother, and Cecil's achievement in finding his crystal, that he didn't notice the Blue Planet just visible over Cecil's shoulder.

Next chapter: Chapter Four – Gambit of the Goddess


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Four - Gambit of the Goddess**

"Where – am I?" Golbez struggled to his feet. "_What_ am I?" His hands, arms and legs, all that he could see of himself, seemed to be an oddly featureless, crystalline sort of substance.

"A manikin of magic," Cosmos replied. "Since we must talk, and time grows short, I did not want to wait for your souls to recover enough to incarnate again to explain, and then set the plan in motion. It also gives us a way to solve my most pressing problem. I placed each of you in a blank manikin. And, for this plan to work, and not damage you, it is safer this way."

Sephiroth, if the other disturbingly bland crystal humanoid in this strange place was he, seemed too stunned to say anything. That manikin simply stared down at its hands after it got to its feet.

Golbez nodded. "I gather that some of our essence is somehow used to make the battle manikins of this world anyway. What happens when we, in our entire selves, are placed within one?"

"It has never been done before. I believe each of you will imprint the manikin you are contained in with yourselves – fully. That is, each of these manikins will be a perfect, and more to the point, indistinguishable copy of you – complete with not only the appearance, but the fullness of the powers and attacks that you are each known for. The only ones who will know that they are indeed manikins and not the real Sephiroth and Golbez will be the three of us."

"I see. Once they are completely imprinted, if you switch our souls from one manikin to the other..." Sephiroth spoke up. Azure color flooded through the facets of his being.

Cosmos smiled gravely, clearly pleased by the development. "Yes, you can manifest as Golbez, while he becomes you, without the complications of actually trading souls between two people. Even between those who are willing, such a trade creates problems for both involved. Problems that would transcend Dissidia and could harm you for the rest of your lives – and perhaps after. By placing your souls in these manikins, it arrests the normal action when a soul reaches an afterlife area. Your souls will not try to regenerate your bodies while you are inhabiting a manikin. This will permit you, Golbez, to manifest as Sephiroth to face Cloud, while you, Sephiroth, confront Cecil in Golbez's place."

"That is the 'cross souls' you spoke of before. The inherit chaos of the plan resolves properly with your wish to create harmony and order," Golbez noted.

"That is my intention. It only works if each of you is still willing after finding out the truth of this plan."

"What purpose is there in tricking those we fight against?" Golbez wondered.

"It is critical to this plan, but I will explain that in a moment," Cosmos said.

"I'm not pleased that there will be a fight against Cloud, using my skills and sword, that I am not in control of," Sephiroth observed.

"But..." Golbez let the word hang in the air.

"Fighting your brother with your skills is a challenge that I am willing to face. And, don't go easy on Cloud." Abruptly the manikin's face softened from the harsh planes of crystal, and assumed some of Sephiroth's own features and coloring. "You have to give him as brutal and difficult a battle as I would have."

"It seems the imprinting is well underway. What Sephiroth just said is a concern for each of you. You, Golbez, will have to act as Sephiroth, and Sephiroth, you must pretend to be Golbez. The manikin itself, imprinted by the other with their abilities will help, but the longer you inhabit it, the more likely you will slip up and do something uncharacteristic for the other. Also, some level of – personality – of the other will most likely be in place. It is best if this part of the plan is completed quickly – for the safety of all concerned."

"Not to mention peace of mind," Sephiroth muttered.

"Can you explain this plan now, Cosmos? Why do we have to switch places?" Golbez asked. Earnest eyes, of a lightly purple hue, abruptly appeared in the face of the manikin his soul was contained in.

"I will, and we will be able to set that plan in motion soon, but there is another task that must be completed first. I know how Cecil suffered while he was only able to display his sense of duty under the guise of the Dark Knight. It dismays me how often here, in Dissidia, he reverts to that form. Not because he is turned away from the light, but because wearing that darkened aspect causes him to revisit insecurities and doubts that should trouble him no longer. Because of that, while the crystal I had crafted for him to claim in the last cycle did appear to be as one of those from your reality, it glowed with pure blue light – befitting only a paladin to claim. I did not create a dark crystal for him, but the crystal he claimed was indeed – shadowed."

"How did his crystal assume this form? Was it because he relied so much on his Dark Knight abilities?" Golbez asked. Sephiroth watched as more and more of Golbez's features appeared in the manikin. It seemed that his concern for his brother was one of the most important things in his life, that speaking of Cecil advanced the formation of the manikin into Golbez's shape so rapidly.

"No. If it had been something so simple and harmless, I would not be concerned. It was part of the crux of the Emperor's plot during the last cycle."

Golbez turned and stared expectantly at Sephiroth, who remembered what had happened in the last cycle perfectly. "The Emperor's plot... He wanted to seize the power of the gods. To that end, once we realized Cosmos had split her power and sealed it in ten crystals, one for each of her warriors, we knew it was our chance. Cosmos, with her godly power sealed away, would be mortal and weak enough to be destroyed before the cycle's end. The Emperor reasoned that if that happened, Shinryu would not be able to revive her – a true death."

"Yes, but... Using all of you, both my warriors and the warriors of Chaos, to create dark crystals for himself – you knew of that part of the Emperor's plot, did you not?" Cosmos asked.

"Dark crystals? No."

"As long as harmony and disorder, light and darkness, vie directly with each other in balanced battle, no one is strong enough to seize control. The Emperor sought to claim a portion of each opposing force within himself, then bring about an end to the cycle in such a way that a permanent imbalance was created. After a period of either extreme chaos, or ultimate harmony, the opposite force, released by the absolute death of the god in question, would try to find a new vessel for the power. By housing crystals born of certain key conflicts between those of darkness and light within himself, the Emperor sought to become the only one that power would gravitate toward and manifest within. Finally, the imbalance would become so great that even the triumphant side would lose cohesion and slide toward dissolution. Only the Emperor, embodying even the weakest amount of the opposite power, would be safe – and able to seize all of the power released in the final end."

"Convoluted and diabolical. That does seem to be a hallmark of the Emperor's plans. Would it have worked?" Sephiroth asked.

Cosmos nodded. "All too well. The Emperor made his crystals of the interactions of each of your spirits with the crystals of light while battling the warriors they were intended for. He would have been the only magnet for any power of harmony or disorder released in a final scenario. There was only one time this interaction of spirits of light and darkness did not create a lesser crystal for the Emperor to use. At first, I thought the crystal had failed to produce what he wanted – given the unusual nature of whom it was intended for." She turned toward Golbez. "That crystal was the one bound to you for your brother to win."

"Pardon?"

"Instead of creating a new crystal of darkness from the interaction of light and darkness in your conflict with your brother, that energy was forced _into_ your brother's crystal – changing it into the darkened crystal he now holds within his soul. I fear this is a final fail-safe for the Emperor's ultimate plan – to reach from one cycle to the next and seize unimagined power for himself."

"How?"

"What would happen if a darkened crystal, and a pure crystal, were brought together in the same human spirit?"

"Cecil would be able to..."

Cosmos shook her head sadly. "For all of Cecil's skill with both light and darkness, he would still be unable to control the reaction as each crystal fought for dominance over him. Even a god would be hard-pressed to survive the battle between the essences of darkness and light directly conflicting each other within one's very soul. Your brother's soul would be torn asunder and he would suffer the fate plotted for me in the last cycle – absolute death."

"No!" Golbez's helmet suddenly appeared, obscuring his horrified expression from view. Sephiroth realized that Golbez's armor was not so ridiculously massive to intimidate his foes quite so much as to protect him from revealing too much of his true motivations.

_He really cares about his brother. Why, then, does he answer Chaos' call? _Sephiroth wondered. _He is far closer to the light – to Cosmos' side – than he realizes._

"There is only one way to prevent this – Cecil must not claim his crystal this cycle. I am of light – I have no means to darken the crystal I have prepared for him. I am certain this is a deep plot of the Emperor's from the last cycle, even if he doesn't remember it. He most likely schemed, when he set this plan in motion, to capture the power created by the dissolution of Cecil's soul and claim it for his own. Through the lesser crystals created through all of your fated conflicts during the last cycle, and now housed within his own conniving soul – he has the means to do so."

"How do I stop my brother from claiming his crystal? How do I save him?"

Cosmos smiled sadly. "I fear, Golbez, it is beyond you."

"B-But... There must be a way!"

"There is, but you, for all your instinct to protect Cecil, could never make it work. Before you protest – let me ask you: could you hurt him? Not the temporary hurt of beating him in a battle, but truly hurt him – down to his very soul? That is what is required. I wish it were not so, but it is the only way."

"I..." Golbez straightened his now-armored shoulders resolutely. "To save him from absolute death, I would do anything – no matter how distasteful."

"Your bond with your brother is admirable indeed. But it is that same bond that would betray you in the end. To prevent Cecil from claiming his crystal this cycle, you must beat him down so severely that he doesn't get up. You know him. As long as there is life within him, or once life returns, he would come back. The only way to prevent this is to break him."

"Break – him?"

Cosmos shook her head, dismayed at having to state it clearly. "You must beat him so badly, and so often, that his spirit breaks. He must come to a point of such despair that he loses faith in his mission, his friends, you, and finally, himself. It is the only way he will stop striving for his crystal – and the only way to save him from absolute death."

"I..."

Cosmos stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on his gauntlet-clad forearm. "Golbez – it is beyond you. You care for him too much to break him. You lack that ruthlessness – especially toward your brother. But, there is one who possesses it. And, he does not have the same handicaps in fulfilling this plan that you do."

"But still – how can I let anyone – even you, Cosmos – plan to break Cecil's spirit so thoroughly and stand idly by? What sort of brother would I be to know that such a plan exists and not try to stop it?"

"You would be the best sort of brother." Sephiroth stopped ruminating and fuming over how the Emperor had used even him during the last cycle and spoke up. "Don't forget, we need Cecil if we are to break free of the cycle of battle. It is all four of us or none of us, right?" Sephiroth looked toward the goddess who nodded her confirmation. He returned his attention to Golbez. "If you do not have the strength to break your brother, I will provide. Remember, it is not to harm him that Cosmos devised this plan, but to save him."

Golbez's head dropped. He shook it. "I – don't know..."

"I do not know brothers and how things work between them, but, if I break your brother, destroying his belief in all he holds dear, including you, and he finds out that ultimately, it was to save him, and, more importantly, you had nothing to do with the pain he will suffer at my hands..."

Golbez paused and seemed to consider for a long moment. "Yes. That could well work. My brother, once he found out the truth of the deception and the reason behind it..."

"Cecil's dark despair would give way to an even deeper trust in the light, and all those he holds close in his heart," Cosmos supplied. "The light would return to his darkened soul in a brilliant burst chasing all the doubts and sorrow away."

"Hmph," Sephiroth scoffed.

Cosmos smiled gently. "Now, how do you feel? It seems the imprinting is complete. Would you care to test it for me?" She gestured toward where battle manikins, of the usual type, were advancing toward them.

Sephiroth stretched what felt for all the world to be his body in what seemed to be a nearly back-breaking arc. The strength, power, and balance all seemed to be as they usually were. He summoned the Masamune and sent his multi-blade attack into one of the approaching foes. He smiled grimly when it tore apart the one who looked like Cloud. The Emperor manikin next to it virtually exploded from Golbez's attack.

After several minutes the intense wave of manikins stopped. Sephiroth felt as he always did. If not for having seen the featurelessness of his own hands, arms, and legs, and watched as that same sort of featurelessness in the other gradually changed into the appearance of Golbez, he would believe that he was himself, and not merely a new and advanced sort of manikin crafted by Cosmos with the help of his own soul. He felt more than a little disturbed by the thought.

"You are not a puppet, Sephiroth. I am merely helping you gain the tools you need to wrest free of the cycle of battle. You are in complete control of your will, and your actions – and you will continue to enjoy that control and freedom. I hope that you will decide to help me – that's all. If anything, you are still the puppet master, just pulling the strings from the inside."

"Stop delving into my thoughts, goddess," Sephiroth warned in a dangerous tone.

"Where are our real bodies?" Golbez asked. "I have often wondered how the afterlife areas work. They reveal nothing useful to my magical sense."

"This is Dissidia. It is a function of this world. More specifically, it is a function of its closed nature. When you are first summoned here, you become part of it. Until the final outcome of the cycle, if you are killed, your soul appears in one of the afterlife areas. I don't know if Chaos handles his afterlife areas personally, or simply allows them to function as they normally do, but I tailor a specific region of each of my afterlife areas to suit each of my warriors. Cecil's afterlife area resembles the Sanctuary of Light where he first became a Paladin; and the afterlife area you usually find yourself in, Sephiroth, is the pool of Lifestream that had been created for Cloud, though of course you exit from it in the Chaos-side direction."

Sephiroth stared. He hadn't realized Cosmos had created that afterlife place.

A massive involuntary shudder passed through Golbez. "I am always surrounded by darkness no light can pierce. There is no sense of up or down, or sound, or any other sense. After a while, it seems as though my heart starts to beat, as I hear the pulsing of it in my ears. I can feel again, but not move, nor see, nor hear aught else than my own heartbeat, and that lasts for untold time. Finally, there's a great and terrible pulling, and then I can see, again. I usually find myself somewhere in the Lunar Subterrane when I return, though once in a while I am at the Rift," Golbez said. There was a vague sense of horror lurking in his words.

"I don't know how Sephiroth managed to find the afterlife place I created for Cloud, but I am not displeased that he did. I will try to find some way for your soul to likewise be drawn to the sanctuary I crafted for Cecil upon any defeat you suffer in Dissidia," Cosmos promised.

"What must I do to gain this benefit from you, my lady?" Golbez asked.

"Nothing. Consider it a gift of the light."

"Why? Why would you do this – for me?"

"Because you are almost as noble and self-sacrificing as your light-obsessed, idiot paladin brother," Sephiroth noted crossly. "Just accept it – it's better than the hell you are currently going through, and let's move on."

"To answer your original question, Golbez, any soul that finds itself in any of the afterlife areas after defeat instinctively uses the magical weave of Dissidia itself to recreate its usual body. The manikins that have become so prevalent lately are created from the spiritual force, similar to ex-force, that is shed by you warriors with each defeat." Cosmos paused, regarding the two warriors before her with gently shining eyes. "Now that you know the warp and woof of my plan, are each of you willing to take part in it?" She turned to face Golbez. "Is it acceptable to you for Sephiroth, while wielding your skills and wearing what appears to be your form, to battle your brother?"

"To – break him – you mean."

"Yes."

"Is there no other way? Could I not just talk with him, explain it to him, as you explained it to me?"

"You want to tell him that he can't claim the crystal I crafted for him, the one I told him would help end this conflict and save the world, because the crystal he gained the last time he was here – that he does not recall claiming as to him this is the first time he's ever been here – has settled unintended darkness in his soul? Do you think he would believe you?"

"I..."

"He wouldn't. It sounds like a lame ploy to get him to renege on his duty to find his crystal," Sephiroth stated.

"But... How does this help us pull ourselves free of the cycle?"

"It doesn't. It only safeguards my warrior so that he will not be destroyed. It does accustom each of you to the other's skills – which will be necessary to the plan to free you from Dissidia."

"Good enough for me," Sephiroth said. "Besides, it's been a long time since I set out to thoroughly destroy someone. I'm looking forward to it – even if I must use your skills to break him."

Golbez stared at the delight on the cold-eyed champion's face, and shivered.

* * *

Author's note –

Just to show how not in control I am, the over-seeing gods from the introduction are showing up again. In fact, one of them will be revealed to be pivotal to how the story unfolds – in time. –sigh– Someday, I will find a fandom to write in where the characters don't hijack the plot from me. Maybe.

Next chapter: INTERLUDE / Chapter Five - Perception of the Paladin


	6. Chapter 6

**INTERLUDE**

The sky darkened, but not the roiling, unrestful darkening of gathering clouds. Nor was it the nearly unnoticeable withdrawing of the light that heralded the arrival of dusk. In the world of Dissidia, the timetable of a normal day turning naturally into a normal night didn't apply.

There was nothing natural about this gathering darkness. In fact, it wasn't dark at all. The light was being canceled out exactly by darkness, washing everything with a uniform, featureless gray.

Cosmos had seen this effect before, but never while a cycle was active. She pondered what it meant even as she stood up. She watched as the gray overtook the curving structures of her land. She wondered what her warriors would think it was. When not a single one reacted, she reasoned the effect was so subtle it was below the threshold a human, even these exceptional ones, could sense.

She could sense it. Moreover, she knew exactly what it meant. Light and darkness canceling each other so perfectly, goodness and evil balancing to complete neutral, action and inertia matching into a perfectly unsteady steady state – all of it was the precursor of the greater gods 'descending' to communicate with her.

And it had never happened during a battle cycle before.

"You have overstepped your authority, goddess." The voice of the emissary of the gods echoed as it usually did within her mind, as well as her ears, soft and loud, and in its usual weird blend of male and female characteristics, but this time Cosmos could sense the anger vibrating within the tones.

"In what way?" she replied softly. She had an idea, but wanted to make certain.

"The master manikins you created. The manikins are the tools of the greater gods. One like you should never have dared to fashion the stuff of it to your own whims."

Cosmos nodded. It was as she had feared. "I had been given to understand some latitude..."

"Do not presume to mince words with me, goddess!" The whisper-soft components of the emissary's voice were swallowed up in the rage. "Latitude toward how your approached and fulfilled your role of Order, even co-opting some of the aspects of Chaos would be permitted, but to reach out and dare to work the substance the greater gods reserve for themselves? Inexcusable! Whatever benefit you hoped to gain will be stripped from you, of course. I see why you used the souls of your foe to try for your unfair advantage. Those hapless souls might not survive the rending of..."

"Let her have the latitude – under my authority." This voice was quiet, commanding, and recognizably male. Cosmos shivered. It was also cold, colder than the depths of space.

"You do understand what she is doing – why she did this? Her champion is as good as dead but for this. Are you certain you wish to allow her this chance, in this way, to save him?" The emissary challenged the new voice, presumably that of one of the greater gods, with the words, but the tone was highly deferential.

"It doesn't matter to me if her champion survives. Let her have this one, paltry victory – as long as my ultimate plan is achieved. I don't care about anything else." The coldness of the greater god's voice, if anything, deepened.

"As you wish, m'lord."

Color, movement, and life washed back into the view before Cosmos' eyes, but a chill of dread coiled softly within her. Her actions, which had seemed so radical, yet still her own – were they truly hers? Or was she, even now, being manipulated by one higher god, to feel as she did, and act as she did – some ultimate pawn herself in a chess game played by those gods above her? She struggled herself sometimes to remember that her heroes were still people gifted with their own free wills, and not merely powerful pieces on a battlefield for her to direct around as she vied against Chaos. Was the deeper danger of Dissidia not that she might lose her compassion toward her warriors, or that Chaos most certainly held no compassion himself, but that both of them, Chaos and Cosmos, were themselves merely the master pawns of the greater gods in some game that _they_ played?

The horror of this thought drifted and settled around her heart like snow, but...

"My lady. Something troubles you?" The Warrior of Light assumed his customary pose dropping gracefully to one knee before her, but lifted his head to permit his goddess to see the worry, along with his resolve to erase the cause of _her_ worry, in his eyes.

Cosmos smiled gently. She still did not know why this one champion of hers was not permitted to remember his life outside of Dissidia, but she suspected it had something to do with the fact that Garland, the Warrior of Light's Chaos-aligned foe, retained so much of his. The Warrior of Light's amnesia did grant both of them a benefit, though. He didn't bring anxiety from his extra-Dissidia life with him, so he, more than any other, was able to concentrate fully on the events in Dissidia. This rendered his loyalty to Cosmos and her mission absolute. It wasn't that the other heroes were disloyal, just that they had divided hearts, and issues that had to be resolved, or at least recognized, before they could concentrate completely on Cosmos' plans. Unfettered by his memory and his own past, the Warrior of Light alone was free to concentrate solely on the here and now, and Cosmos had reason to be grateful for that directness in each cycle of Dissidia.

"No, it is nothing." She considered. It wasn't good to claim anything to do with the greater gods was 'nothing' as they might be – no, assuredly were – listening. "Rather, it's quite something, but not anything that you, or I, can do anything about. Sometimes we must cast our lot to chance and..."

"Trust in the light?" The Warrior of Light ventured after Cosmos' soft voice stopped for a long moment.

The goddess smiled. "Something very like that. It is beyond our control, so we must move forward and trust in the light."

**Chapter Five - Perception of the Paladin**

Clad within what appeared to be Golbez's armor of blackest night, Sephiroth found himself wondering anew about the reluctant warrior of Chaos. He knew that Golbez was not anywhere near as tall or bulky as his armor would indicate. While the warlock did wear armor, and the heavy stuff of knights at that, the massive form he presented was an illusion, a magical, though solid, projection. As to why, Sephiroth couldn't begin to fathom.

Then there were the skills. Having recently been on the receiving end of Golbez's attacks, Sephiroth found it fascinating to deconstruct how they worked. The magic of his world was granted by the presence and proper use of materia, but Golbez's magic seemed to be innate. Somehow, Golbez had woven his magical attacks together with physical ones. Sephiroth nodded. That was part of the reason Golbez's armor was unlike the form protected within. The armor itself was part of Golbez's battle style, tacking on purely physical components to his magical attacks.

Within the master manikin Cosmos had created, Sephiroth found two threads of information. One of them detailed how the warlock's attacks worked if he thought about fighting. The other, when he turned his attention toward it, weakly flooded over him with fragments of memories and washes of emotion. Sephiroth was surprised to learn that Golbez had not always cared what happened to his brother. Rather, he cared, but in a far darker and much more malign way.

_He answers Chaos' call because of who he had been, not who he is now, _Sephiroth realized. _Blind fool._

His time for exploring the alien and somewhat disturbing inner landscape ended as he arrived at his destination. Firion spied him, and while the weapon-master didn't smile, his expression lightened with recognition. _Golbez is not immediately perceived as a threat to be attacked on sight by Cosmos' forces – interesting_. As always, Sephiroth filed the information away for later use. Firion called out, alerting Cecil that his brother was nearby.

Cecil, wearing his brighter aspect, hastened to meet him. "Brother! What is wrong?"

Reluctantly, Sephiroth recognized the expression on the paladin's face, and shining in his eyes. Zack had looked at him the same way, once. Hero-worship. The path of Golbez's emotions within the manikin housing his spirit balked at Sephiroth's realization. It took him a moment of inwardly applied will to beat the denial down. When he looked outward again, he found Cecil staring up at him with concern foremost in his gaze.

"Brother?"

"Nothing is wrong, Cecil. I merely want to talk." Cecil nodded uncertainly. "Not here. I do not wish to be overheard."

The paladin pointed. "Many from our side are currently at Order's Sanctuary. Unless one of Chaos' forces is there, we should be able to talk undisturbed in the Lunar Subterrane."

Sephiroth found it telling that Cecil did not include his brother with Chaos' warriors, though the warlock had answered the god of disorder's summons.

"Before we go any further..." Cecil stopped after several minutes of walking under the dark night sky of the battlefield that so closely resembled his home reality. "We are away from the others. They cannot overhear us. There is no need to pretend any longer. I know you are not my brother."

Unsure how to proceed, Sephiroth halted. He pondered a moment before asking, "what are you saying?"

"I am a paladin – gifted with hallowed light. As the abilities granted to me because of its presence grew, so did an ability to sense it in others. You bear a touch of this light buried deep within your soul. But this glimmer is entirely unlike the light dwelling within my brother's soul. I knew the moment my senses touched you that you are not my brother."

"Then, why? Why agree to leave your friends when I asked?" Sephiroth was too stunned to continue the charade.

"I figured there had to be a reason for you to pretend to be my brother. He is likewise taking your place, I presume?"

"Yes." _How is this going to complicate the plan? Cosmos didn't consider that we would be found out._ Sephiroth thought.

"It will be interesting to see if Cloud figures it out," Cecil said.

"You know?"

"Who you really are? Yes. Each touch of light and darkness is unique. When I look at people through the prism of light and darkness, there is no easy way to conceal identities from me."

"You are more aware – and more capable than I suspected." Sephiroth realized this must be the reason why he has to break Cecil. It seemed as if Cecil could not perceive the light and darkness within his own soul as clearly, or he would be aware of the alien darkness of the crystal – even if not the cause.

Cecil ducked his head slightly. "I kept my light hidden for so long within the armor of the dark knight perhaps I have learned to conceal my true abilities as well. It seems as though many have underestimated me because of this. But, I have to wonder, why have you and my brother devised this elaborate ruse? Would it not have been easier to tell us what was needed – and ask for help?"

"If you can read the balance of light and darkness in others as well as you claim, you know the answer to that question already."

"I want you to ponder my question anyway. I've made a decision. I am not giving up on my brother. I won't let him continue to shut me out and wallow in his darkness when we return home. The old me would have, but there is some – change – happening within me. I have discussed it with my friends. Two sides, one obviously good, one evil, summoning warriors from different realities matched against their usual foes as their champions to resolve the conflict... There is something – artificial about this. We don't know what purpose there is to it, but we have decided we will still fight for Cosmos. I sense that my brother is reluctant to fight for Chaos – and there's a touch of this reluctance within you, too."

Sephiroth pondered how much to tell Cecil. He was shocked at how close to the truth the champions of light had managed to come through reason alone. He hadn't credited any of them with the necessary brains or deviousness to figure out the truth. "This world – Dissidia – we have each fought here before. There is a way to retain memories from one cycle – that is a summons into this arena – to the next, but I don't recommend it. It's – painful."

Cecil nodded. "Something different must have happened last time. Some of us seem to have a sense of déjà vu, not exactly memories, but the sense that this very unusual place is familiar. It is my hope, if we are to be summoned to this 'Dissidia' in the future, that perhaps my brother, if he is caught up with me again, will be fighting on my side. The side of light. There is much work to be done, in our world, if I am to make that hope a reality, but I am resolved to pull my brother fully into the light."

"Hmph. There is a determination in you, under all your simplistic prattle and ideals, that I had been unaware of. If anyone could do such a thing, it would be you."

"Scoff all you want, but the tie of family, my bond with my brother, gives me strength. I just want it to become his strength, too."

"It already is, though he runs from it. Brothers, hmm? Perhaps..."

"I am a paladin attuned to the light, but I am also a dark knight, infused with the power of darkness. Through this power I can clearly sense the darkness ruling in your soul. If not for the mote of light within you, I would fear greatly for my friend when both of you return to your own reality."

Sephiroth, within his Golbez guise, turned abruptly. "There is work to be done. Standing around discussing light and darkness only wastes time."

Cecil, behind Sephiroth's back, smiled. On the surface, the swordsman's words were dismissive and harsh, but within his soul the nearly infinitesimal brightening of the tiny speck of light that dwelled there, told him a different story through his paladin senses.

"So, what must be done? To complete this plan of yours and my brother's?"

Sephiroth turned and contrived to smirk his wicked, trademarked smile despite wearing Golbez's form and massive armor. Cecil shivered, somehow sensing it though there was no way he could see it.

"I must break you, but – instead of a bravery break, I must break your light. You must fall into a despair so dark that you feel as if your friends, your brother, even the light itself has abandoned you. In the throes of this despair you must lose all desire to fulfill your duty as Cosmos's warrior to find your crystal this cycle – and no force in Dissidia can persuade you to take up your task again. Not your friends, not your goddess, not even your brother. Are you okay with that?"

Cecil pondered for a very long moment. He sighed. "The light runs deep in me. It's going to be a very long battle. An epic fight – breaking my light, that is. Are you up for it?"

Sephiroth's wicked smile deepened. "I've played with Cloud for so long, breaking a new puppet – a shiny paladin puppet at that – is a very welcome diversion."

"I'm in for a world of pain," Cecil muttered.

"No. I've had to act contrary to my own impulses since this misbegotten cycle started. You are in for a multitude of worlds of pain."

"Lovely." Cecil replied sourly. "I trust the reason for this is pressing enough? And afterward, my brother, my _true_ brother, will be able to – to restore me? And explain why?"

"No promises, but – that is the plan."

Cecil paced several steps away, assumed his Dark Knight aspect, and summoned his weapon. "Then, have at you!"

* * *

Author's note –

Apologies for the delay. I had plotted for this story to be about nine chapters in all, but, a few new twists have appeared requiring more writing, and changing some aspects of the story in an unanticipated (though hopefully rather cool) way. I've learned not to argue with muses who wield swords! I'm also trying to have this story flow hand-in-hand with my FFIV story, Legacy of Light, and that adds a level of complexity to both stories that slows me down some, too.

Next chapter: Chapter Six - Cruelty of the Champion


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Six - Cruelty of the Champion**

He lost count of the number of times his skin had been scorched black with dark flame. His entire body felt as though it had been crushed over and over again by bruising magic, and each time he'd been thrown into the unwelcome embrace of the spell by his brother's implacably strong hands. He found himself battered to the ground over and over again with the combined might of brutal physical attacks that flowed as one with devastating magical ones that was Golbez's signature fighting style. He endured the savage assaults for as long as he could, dodging and deflecting what he could of the attacks, but it availed him nothing. Over and over he would regain his senses and find he was prone on the ground, while his brother stood over him – laughing.

Just when the blackness would reach up to mercifully give him relief from the torment, that was when this pitiless foe would summon white light between his massively gauntleted hands, and send healing force over and into him.

Cecil had once longed for the kindness and gentleness of this action to be directed his way by his brother – but now he cursed it. He felt bitterly betrayed by his own absurdity to have ever wished for such a thing.

Golbez only healed him enough for him to regain _some _of his strength. Enough to stand. Enough to take up his weapon again. It didn't matter which form he assumed – dark knight or paladin – his brother's sheer power and ruthless determination made shreds of his defenses, and battered away even his strongest attacks.

Cecil's entire world narrowed to the painfully tight focus on this battle – and the feeling buried in his heart that it was wrong. That his brother would never devolve into this state of darkness, again. But, there was no reason for Golbez to attack him – certainly no reason for Golbez to be even more ferociously vicious than he'd ever been before. Cecil needed to know why Golbez was behaving this way again. Perhaps, if he could understand it, he could help his brother fight through whatever demons were driving him to this level of brutality. More than anything else, Cecil wanted to save his brother – no – help Golbez save himself, pull himself from the darkness and into the light. But, this senseless battle with his brother invited despair that he could ever see his wish fulfilled to creep across his heart. It was an unwelcome touch of gloom chilling across his soul – the utter despair and darkness he hadn't felt since his father bestowed the light upon him. Cecil had only a moment to recognize the soul-killing bleakness before the battling started again.

"Brother... Why?" Cecil managed to climb up to his hands and knees, pushed his blood-matted hair from his face, and directed his pitiful plea up toward his tormentor.

"Insect. There is no 'why' – no reason to do this to you. It is – a game. To see how long it takes me to break you." Golbez's reply held vast amusement.

"Once before, when we battled and you had reduced me to a state of helplessness on the ground before your feet, you stood over me in triumph – but stopped before taking my life. I asked you then why you stayed your hand... Now, I beg for you to finish this. Beating me, then healing me just enough to beat me again... Over and over... It is a cruelty I had never suspected to find in you, my brother. Release me from this torment." Cecil locked his grief-stricken eyes on the obscuring slit in the deliberately malevolent helmet his brother wore, hoping his plea would reach the heart of the one hidden behind it. "Take my life."

Golbez loomed over him and stared down at him for an eternally long moment. "As you wish." A shadow dragon coiled around his brother's shoulders and spat biting cold at him. The true battering began, hit after hit of wracking magic and sheer physical might sending wave after wave of shocking agony through him that finally shattered every bone in his body. Cecil gasped in torment as his heart, pierced through by a shard of one of his own ribs, spasmed weakly. The physical pain, as intense as it was, paled in comparison to his mental anguish that his brother would do this to him. Brokenhearted in every sense of the word, Cecil welcomed the darkness that rushed toward him. The blackness reached up greedily for his consciousness and _this_ time, this final, merciful time, the dreaded white light of healing didn't thwart its triumph.

Sephiroth, wearing Golbez's form, made two realizations. First, Golbez held an incredible amount of power in check. Sephiroth now knew how destructive Golbez could be if he ever used his full power in earnest. Secondly, breaking Cecil had been even harder than he had anticipated – and, most surprising to him, ultimately distasteful.

"A quick death, Cloud. I promise I will simply kill you – rather than try to break you – if _our_ conflict comes to it."

* * *

Author's note –

I hope it's obvious that Cecil believes by this point that the person battling him so fiercely is Golbez, even though he started the fight knowing that it was actually Sephiroth disguised as his brother. Just imagine how long and dreadful the fight must have been for Sephiroth's continued cruelty to erase Cecil's awareness of the truth so completely!

Golbez doesn't appear to officially possess White Magic in the FFIV/Dissidia canon, but it always seemed logical to me that he would, in the same way Tellah commanded both White and Black Magic. I would guess that White Magic could be harder for Golbez to manifest. Alternatively, during the very brief time that Sephiroth is a 'playable' character in FFVII, he used a materia that granted him healing magic, and within Dissidia, his final attack appears to be entirely magic-based at the end. Perhaps, after so much time manipulating magic via materia, and augmented by his dip in the Lifestream, Sephiroth is able to work magic directly.

So, was Sephiroth able to heal Cecil partially multiple times in order to break him more fully using Golbez's magical skill – or his own? I'll leave that decision up to each reader.

Next chapter – Chapter Seven – Woe of the Warlock


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Seven – Woe of the Warlock**

Golbez tapped into Sephiroth's archived skills and manifested the Masamune. He was fascinated by this for two reasons: he did not use a 'signature weapon' such as this himself so he had no experience with calling forth a weapon in Dissidia as many of the warriors, even his brother, did. Secondly, the blade itself was intriguing.

The Masamune reminded Golbez of the blades that Edge, the ninja prince from his reality, used. But Edge relied upon stealth, quick, precise cuts with his short, agile weapon, and ninja arts in his combat style. Though the Masamune most closely resembled one of Edge's katanas in design, there was no way it could be used in the same manner. It was far too long – longer even than a two-handed sword.

Two paths of information opened in the master manikin his spirit inhabited. The first one unlocked the skills Sephiroth had honed in learning how to use his unique sword, and craft his formidable fighting style. Swift and precise, but long slashes were the hallmark of the Masamune. Sephiroth used his height and presence to augment his combat style rather than skulk in the shadows or background as Edge the ninja did. On the surface the combat style was absurd, counter to everything that the weapon implied that it ought to be, but having been defeated by that same style, Golbez knew that in Sephiroth's hands, even if no other, the Masamune was anything but absurd. It was eerily deadly.

He found his access to his own magic to be blunted. He could probably cast one of his spells, perhaps even summon his shadow dragon, but it would take quite a lot of effort and concentration – concentration that would be lethal to try to reach for on a battlefield. He nodded. It made sense. Within the master manikin crafted by Sephiroth's spirit he was the visitor. He would use the skills Sephiroth had archived here when it came to battling. Therefore, maintaining easy access to his own combat skills would be confusing and potentially deadly in the midst of a fight.

The other path of Sephiroth beckoned darkly. Golbez wanted to resist exploring this path, for he recognized the shadowed nature of it, but curiosity won in the end. Curiosity and a very real concern for his brother.

Central to Sephiroth's spirit was an urge, no, it went beyond urge into obsession, with the concept that he deserved the power of a god. To gain that power, Sephiroth would do anything, kill anyone, even seek to destroy a planet – if that is what it took. Twisted into this obsession was a seriously unsettling mass of emotion and self-identity coiled around the name JENOVA. Golbez got a fleeting sense of a filial impulse toward whomever or whatever JENOVA was before the path collapsed, preventing further exploration.

He didn't mind being shut out of the darkened path. Sephiroth, among all of the forces of Chaos, looked as if he belonged on the side of light. He was fair to look at. He didn't wear dark or overtly malicious attire, and he didn't exhibit any hideous physical signs, like Cloud of Darkness with her additional monster heads, or Ultimecia with her black wings. Cecil, of all the forces of Cosmos, appeared as if he might be better suited to battle for Chaos' side whenever he wore his Dark Knight aspect, but the purity of his spirit showed that he belonged where he was. It was the same with Sephiroth. He appeared fair and reasonable. Golbez shuddered. Even the preliminary taste he had of the other's motivations convinced him that Sephiroth was very much on the proper side. Not only was there real darkness within the champion, that darkness masked the face of true evil.

Golbez was abruptly pulled from his various musings as movement caught his eye. Without any sort of planning on his part, he was hidden from sight as the other walked past.

"Cloud." Golbez found it interesting to watch how the soldier's demeanor changed when he said his name. Sephiroth's voice didn't rumble in the lower registers the way his own did, but it still commanded attention. The soldier stiffened, and turned to face him. Though Cloud didn't reach toward his weapon, a sort of taut awareness took over his frame. Golbez had no doubt that if he made any sort of a threatening move, his actions would be met in kind.

"What do you want?" Cloud's reply was oddly inflectionless, as if he didn't care. The affectation didn't fool Golbez for a minute. He wondered if it fooled Sephiroth, but suspected it didn't. "I'm not in the mood to fight you. It's – pointless."

"Very well."

"What?"

"We don't have to fight."

"What? That's all you ever want to do. Fight me – always fight me. It's tiring."

Golbez touched the inner pathway that showed him it wasn't so. Not completely. The continual battling was a means to an end, not the goal itself. Cloud had yet to discern the truth. Not that Golbez knew what that truth was, either. The path of Sephiroth within didn't give him that much insight into the champion. He could tell only that the fighting was not the goal. Still he, Golbez, knew all too well how tiring it was to fight without cause.

"Perhaps you've found me in a contemplative mood," Golbez said.

"You don't do 'contemplative'. You only do destructive," Cloud snapped back.

If Golbez had been in his concealing armor, he would have smiled at that. There was something quite likeable about this young man, despite his cynical attitude. Perhaps Cecil was not quite as naive as he always thought, that he could claim one such as Cloud as his friend. Then again, there were very few people Cecil couldn't get along with – when he tried. Golbez still wondered about that quality in his brother: such openness could be the sign of an extremely generous spirit – or the hallmark of a fool. Golbez wondered if both were true about his brother.

The path of Sephiroth within him, rather, within the master manikin he was inhabiting, twitched at the direction his thoughts were heading. Right. He appeared to be Sephiroth, and was supposed to be acting like him, not like Golbez. Still, his reluctance to fight wasn't totally abhorrent to the Sephiroth-spawned urges within him – probably because Sephiroth wanted to battle Cloud himself, and not by proxy, even if it would be his skills giving Cloud a beat-down.

Again, Golbez had to suppress his natural reaction to such a bloodthirsty nature. That Sephiroth appeared to be cool, disinterested, and completely in control amazed him, now that he knew what Sephiroth's true nature was like. Golbez spared himself a moment of uneasiness, worrying for his brother, who was even now being stalked by this monster wearing a man's shape. That Cloud vied willingly against Sephiroth... Either Cloud didn't know or...

Aerith. A name. A woman's name. The knowledge the path of Sephiroth within him shared was stunning. Even more stunning was the wash of pride that came with it. Sephiroth had slain a young woman by the name of Aerith in a disdainful, and to Golbez's mind, a cowardly way, stabbing her through the back while she was helpless. She had become his target because she tried to stop him from destroying their planet, but, Sephiroth had also known her death would demoralize Cloud. She had been Cloud's friend – if not more. Sephiroth waited while she cast her spell below, waited until the last possible moment to slay her, waited, on purpose, until Cloud was there to witness her death. Golbez quaked internally at such evil.

Then again, Golbez had kidnapped Rosa for the very same reason. He knew that Cecil had feelings for her. He knew that about the Dark Knight even before he had known that Cecil was his brother. He had used those feelings to his own ends, forcing Cecil to do his bidding. He had even left the young woman in danger once he gained the crystal he sought, not caring if Cecil found her in time to save her from death in his trap. Golbez, to his shame, admitted that he held a darkness as evil as Sephiroth's own. Why else did he answer Chaos' call? That he had been controlled by Zemus when he had imperiled Rosa was no excuse.

Finding such a disturbing kinship with Sephiroth was nearly his undoing. Fortunately, Cloud came to his rescue before his thoughts could spiral to a despairing point of no return.

"What do you want?" Cloud emphasized each word slightly, as if addressing a slightly stupid child.

"Ah, that is the question of the hour, isn't it? What do any of us want, in the end?" Golbez replied.

"What?" Cloud stared at him blankly.

Within, Golbez battled against the impulses flowing from the path of Sephiroth. Those impulses had evidently had enough of him and his stalling, and wanted to start slicing at the soldier with the sword. Golbez fought them down. Battling Cloud would be useless. _This_ battle wasn't important – it was the battle that was perhaps even now taking place, between Sephiroth, in the Golbez manikin, and Cecil.

"Tell me – what happens, to the puppet, when you cut its strings?"

Cloud's expression shuttered, hiding his feelings behind a mask. The Sephiroth impulses were appeased at this result, and eased up trying to make him attack Cloud. Finally, Golbez was acting like Sephiroth. This was more in keeping with the adversarial relationship between these two. Messing with Cloud's mind made the Sephiroth-spawned impulses content – for now.

"It falls down," Cloud replied.

"Rendering it useless, wouldn't you agree?"

"I won't fall."

Golbez felt a smirk creep across his features unlike any expression he'd ever used. "Hmph. But, what happens to the puppet master – when the puppet's strings are cut?"

"...nothing."

"Not nothing. The puppet master invested time in learning how to manipulate the puppet. For whatever reason, he decided to craft or find a puppet to amuse himself with. A destroyed puppet is a useless thing – especially to the puppet master. Consider this."

"What the hell do you mean?"

Golbez stared at Cloud for a long moment. "With eyes that glow so brightly, how can you be so blind?"

Cloud returned the stare for an equally long moment. "I take it back. I'd rather fight you than talk with you. It's giving me a headache."

That was the moment when blind panic, such as Golbez had never felt, screamed across his soul. This had nothing to do with Cloud, or Sephiroth, or even him – this was Cecil's soul crying out in terror and inexpressible loss before it –

– was snuffed out.

"NO!" Golbez echoed the scream of his soul, arching his back up toward the sky as he reached as deeply as he could into his magic – his own magic, beyond the block of Sephiroth's skills within the manikin. So powerfully did he delve into himself that he went past even his magic, and dove within the core of his own being. He touched a seething pool of pure light –

– and knew no more.

* * *

Author's note –

I tried, I really did, to get Golbez to fight with Cloud. Neither one of them cooperated (this time). I'm sure that Sephiroth will take up that combat slack in the next chapter.

Next chapter – Chapter Eight – Suspicion of the Soldier


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